(CNN)–Hundreds of protesters gathered this weekend in Maiden, North Carolina, to voice their displeasure with a pastor's statement that gays and lesbians should be rounded up behind electric fences.

Sheriff Coy Reid estimated between 1,500 and 2,000 protestors came to the Catawba County Justice Center for a peaceful protest on Sunday. He said only two citations for noise violations were issued and there were no arrests.

The protest was organized by the Catawba Valley Citizens Against Hate in response to a Mother's Day sermon by Pastor Charles Worley at Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden.

"I figured a way out, a way to get rid of all the lesbians and queers, but I couldn't get it past the Congress," Worley said to his congregation on May 13. A video of his comments went viral on YouTube.

"Build a great big, large fence - 50 or 100 miles long - and put all the lesbians in there," Worley said. "Fly over and drop some food. Do the same thing with the queers and the homosexuals, and have that fence electrified so they can't get out. Feed them. And you know in a few years, they'll die out. You know why? They can't reproduce."

Protestors chanted, "Love not hate," as the lined the road outside the Justice Center, which is 12 miles from thechurch.

Organizers of the protest said they wanted to counter what they called the pastor's hateful words with love and stressed prior to the event that "our Peace Keepers will respond quickly and vigorously to any behavior that detracts from the peaceful, non-violent plans of this event."

On Friday night, vandals targeted the Providence Road Baptist Church, Lt. Daryl McCarty of the Catawba County Sheriff's office told CNN. "It appears that someone tried to set the air conditioning unit on fire in retaliation about his remarks against homosexuals and lesbians from the pulpit."

McCarty said there was "no extensive damage or anything. The incident appears to have happened on Friday night. It wasn't a big enough fire. It only burned the cover off of some wires."

An electric company easily repaired the damage Saturday, according to McCarty.

Sheriff Reid said trash was lit under the air conditioning unit to start the fire. The unit is up against a brick wall and he said it did not seem like the vandals were attempting to burn down the building, saying, "It appeared they were trying to disrupt the service."

The local fire marshal and a sheriff's deputy are investigating the fire further, Reid said.

He also noted that Worley had received death threats after his comments and his department was actively following up on them.

Repeated calls by CNN to the church and to the pastor's home for comment have not been returned. When Worley was approached outside his home on Sunday by CNN's Gary Tuchman and asked whether he would take back any of his comments, the pastor declined to comment.

The church's website has also been down, but it had described the house of worship as independent and fundamentalist. It represents a Baptist tradition self-described as "old-time religion" and the website said church members consider the 1611 King James Version of the Bible to be the "inerrant Word of God."

The church appears to be unconnected with any broader denomination. The Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Baptist group, noted the Providence Road Baptist in Maiden is not affiliated with its 16-million member denomination and condemned the pastor's comments.

Last week in Maiden, members of the church vigorously defended their pastor, who has been at the church for more than two decades.

Some church members, who declined to give their names, said his words had been taken out of context. "He said he would feed them!" some church members told CNN, referring to the Worley's idea for rounding up gays.
Worley "takes a real firm stand on the Bible and what it says about different things," said church member Joe Heffner. "Whether I like it or not or whether anybody else likes it."

Another church member, who declined to give his name, said that "being gay and lesbian or homosexual is wrong according to the Bible. ... It's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve."

The sheriff said his deputies will be paying extra attention to the church building in the wake of the vandalism and threats. The church has about 300 members, he said.

Reid, who has been with the sheriff's department since 1979, said the area had never seen anything quite like this.
"We hope it's over," he said. "The protestors have had their say now, so we're hoping it all dies down."

soundoff(1,365 Responses)

I built an elctric fence to keep the darn religious types from ringing my doorbell and asking for me to join and/or money....

If we took all the money we wasted on imaginary nothing and put it towards the debt... well – we wouldn't have one...

Maybe if someone can opffer me ONE scrap of proof I'd think differently.... anything – but no – only historical records about other people that believed in imaginary things....and that simply isn't proof....

May 28, 2012 at 1:50 pm |

Patrish

Narrow mindless, hate and religion seem to go hand-in-hand. No wonder I despite religion so much. If there is a supreme intelligence e he's way beyond this pettiness. Christian can't even think for themselves, they let some self-important idiot pastor like this lead them around by their nose.

May 28, 2012 at 1:47 pm |

lweba

I love Christianity but fear Christians!

May 28, 2012 at 1:45 pm |

CaseB

If I have to hear someone say "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" one more time, I think I'll explode.
That being said, I have learned through life that people like this are always going to exist. It's just unavoidable. They cannot form proper thoughts, coherent sentences, individual thinking process', or anything else mildly intellectual. They are sheep who follow blindly because of lack of education and compassion. I have learned to stop letting them have any effect over me. Let them act like animals all that they want, and if Darwin is correct, they will eventually die out from their own stupidity. (Here's hoping, anyways). Let's do as a wise man once said, and "Turn the other cheek".
When I read about something (or someone) like this, I try to make it a habit to show someone love. Or make someone laugh. Put some positive out there to counter act the negative.
Oh, and let's make fun of them A LOT because, let's admit it, they really are quite stupid.

May 28, 2012 at 1:44 pm |

CaseB

And, before anyone eludes to it, NO...i did NOT wish them dead...just that eventually that brand of thinking will become extinct.

May 28, 2012 at 1:46 pm |

Scott

AMEN to that!

May 28, 2012 at 1:54 pm |

HeavenSent

1st I'm not buying that this pastor is legitimate ... I believe he's a ringer to stir the pot.
2nd Christians only care about your souls even though you've never learned that you had one, if you did, don't care.
3rd Turn the other cheek refers to stop explaining scriptures to a fool.

May 28, 2012 at 1:58 pm |

Hammer Of The Gods

Adam & Steve are bad because they are gay.
Adam & Eve are good because they are straight.

Adam & Eve had two sons.
Where do the rest of us come from ?
Incest.
The only way possible is for Eve to have procreated with at least one of her sons.

Hey Christians, got an answer for that ????

May 28, 2012 at 2:52 pm |

Patrick

Why is it the conservative nutjobs who claim they want less government, who are issuing bans against gay marriage? And why aren't they concerned with topics that Jesus actually spoke about, like divorce and remarriage?

Matthew 19: (Jesus Speaking) 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for $e xual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

1 Corinthians 7:10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

Why aren't they trying to ban remarriage when the divorce was due only to irreconcilable differences??? Why aren't they trying to ban no fault divorce? Could someone from their side please explain how that isn't hypocrisy?

May 28, 2012 at 1:42 pm |

Patrick

Crickets: chirp chirp chirp

May 28, 2012 at 1:51 pm |

Honey Badger Dont Care

GOD HATES Polytextilites!!

Leviticus: 19:19

May 28, 2012 at 1:40 pm |

annie

How about this? To combat hate, let's round up the pastors such as this guy, the one in Florida, and others, put them behind an electrified fence and leave them there to rot? After all, the bible is very clear on this–you are supposed to love your neighbor, turn the other cheek, not judge, etc. Therefore, let's do this to all "religious" people who don't follow their own bible!

May 28, 2012 at 1:40 pm |

Charles

Annie, you would be doing the same as them. Be careful what you ask for. But I understand what you are trying to say. I am a Christian, but sometimes I have to question the thinking of some of these "Preachers". I may not agree with Gay marriage but my job is NOT to condemn. It is to show love, forgiveness, understanding and compassion.

May 28, 2012 at 2:01 pm |

A Serpent's Thought

Dire straits are now moving upon the world's nations and countries and nation states and other such lands! Weep not for the dead who are with Christ! Rather weep for the times which are soon to be upon all lands! Stand one away from the adulterers of the word! Be not swayed by fornicators will!

Do not please yourself in the sodomizers' perverted Acts for the sodomites want brief pleasures only and they are not of the holy spirit's pleasings! Find yourself a place to rest while searching one's mind for God's words of truth before moving on to a better place!

The days of now times are ever becoming ripe with the dew of man's honey. The generations of the now days' time have become like sackcloth;- filthy and stained with the semen of the bigots and tantalizers and mockers and scoffers of the words of Truth! Death will soon become the righteous revealers of being torn apart and as being trammpled assunder below the highest of wailed in Truths!

The "Majesteriums" of selfish professors being the proclaimed "holy see" will not stand too much longer and they will be plundered by the mobs' amassings! Be though as a peaceful allotments' generation and stand upright in times of trouble and calamities and mayhems! When the time comes when you are found out take heeds to what you say as there will be among lot's "perversionists" many ill deceivers of unrighteousness! They will want to taunt you out and do their will to your body's sakes! Mark well for the time of atrocities will soon be upon the homeland of the free! Be this a direness calling to those who know and do make ready their escape! Find you safe harborages yet in the meanwhile ever stand watch as to the world's moanings and unpleasentries will be seen by all!

May 28, 2012 at 1:37 pm |

sybaris

Wow. You could probably have led a very productive life.

May 28, 2012 at 1:40 pm |

TheBob

It's so funny you say that. Just the other day I saw a weirdo on the street corner, wearing a cardboard sign that said exactly what you've said. Did you copy him, or did he copy you? Or do you both get your bu!!sh!t from the same place?

May 28, 2012 at 1:42 pm |

Patrick

Leviticus 25:44 “‘Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. 45 You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. 46 You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.

Exodus 21:20 “Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, 21 but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.

Genesis 19:33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.

Deuteronomy 22:28 If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and r@pes her and they are discovered, 29 he shall pay her father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the young woman, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.

Genesis 19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”

1 Timothy 2:11 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.

1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.

34 Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

Matthew 19: (Jesus Speaking) 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for $ ex ual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

1 Corinthians 7:10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

Numbers 31: (Moses Speaking) 15 “Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them. 16 “They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the LORD in the Peor incident, so that a plague struck the LORD’s people. 17 Now ki11 all the boys. And ki11 every woman who has slept with a man, 18 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.

2 Kings 6:27 The king replied, “If the LORD does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?” 28 Then he asked her, “What’s the matter?”

She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ 29 So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him,’ but she had hidden him.”

FORGIVE ME CHRISTIANS IF I'VE TAKEN SOMETHING OUT OF CONTEXT. PLEASE EXPLAIN THE CORRECT CONTEXT AND HOPEFULLY, IF THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDES YOUR EXPLANATION, YOU WILL DRAW SOME SOULS TOWARDS CHRIST. (THIS SHOULD CLEAR OUT THE FORUM)

May 28, 2012 at 1:43 pm |

WoeIsMe

And this was all written down by... Men – in a time of need to control and supress women as subserviant, correct? For example – I herd my flock at only day break and at sunset. The rest of the time I sleep. So, by my reckoning, the sky is always red. Since my routine did not allow me to see the daytime sky as blue – then it must not ever be blue. And then I write it down and pass this proof to my peers and generations to come. Over time, the red sky is changed over the translations and generations as being pink. And so on. See the pattern and how flocks are misled and adjust the old premises to fit the mold as time moves on? In short, ask yourself this – what if when you die, it's lights-out -period! No nothing. What a shame it would be at that moment to look back at all the fun you could have had... Just saying...

May 28, 2012 at 1:52 pm |

Hammer Of The Gods

Bet his right hand is sore from all that bible thumpin.

May 28, 2012 at 1:53 pm |

Hammer Of The Gods

The holy see is the pope.
If you believe your bible garbage, if the aniti-christ is coming
wouldnt the perfect place to put him be in the vatican ?
Actually, i think he is already there.

May 28, 2012 at 2:56 pm |

sqeptiq

I believe this IS a serpent's thought for they are far too evil to come from a human. This post is Satan speaking to us and actually naming himself.

Gee, sure would be shame if that church burned down with that bigot in it.

May 28, 2012 at 1:35 pm |

sadiedog

rather than protest , just make him go away . understand ???

May 28, 2012 at 1:34 pm |

Colin

I am yet to hear of a gropu of gays protesting against Christians getting married, calling Christians "sinners" or otherwise looking down on Christians.

The gay community clearly has the moral high ground in this ongoing battle with Christians. That is probably why they are winning and will definitely prevail in the long run.

May 28, 2012 at 1:33 pm |

ReclaimMarriage

I think the state should get out of the marriage business. Only the church should be able to 'marry' people. The state should allow a 'partnership agreement' for any 2 people (of course, only a matter of time before polygamists, incesters and bestialists start protesting this but thats another battle) where they get tax break etc etc. and to break this agreement is the same as what would be called divorce today.

That will remove all controversy, the deviants will get all teh civil rights they need (survivorship, hospital vistation, health benefits etc.) and we can save marriage for holy purposes

May 28, 2012 at 1:38 pm |

Jen

Um, nope. I'm agnostic and I have just as much right to be married as a bible thumper. My husband is my husband, not my partner. The only difference between my marriage and bible thumpers is that my marriage will last a lifetime. Most bible thumpers will get divorced.

May 28, 2012 at 1:44 pm |

sybaris

"only a matter of time before..........."

Really? And on what scale do you fear this will happen and who gives a rip?

"Only the church should be able to marry people"

Which church? And if two buddhists marry in a temple then by your book they're not really married?

May 28, 2012 at 1:45 pm |

Jen

Gay marriage has been legal in Canada for years and there have still been no applications for dog/human marriages or father/daughter marriages. It does happen in the south though! Look at all the married cousins!

May 28, 2012 at 1:51 pm |

FelixCat

"Just look at all the married cousins." Really? Where? Statistics? Examples? No? Then quit with the uninformed stereotypes.

May 28, 2012 at 2:10 pm |

ReclaimMarriage

Jen, Mr. Kodi from TLC's sister wives has made noises about getting recognition for his deviant troupe coz 'the gays have it'. There's a precedent for you.

May 28, 2012 at 2:37 pm |

ReclaimMarriage

Time machine travel into 2020 has headlines:

– 10 incest couples wed
– 8 men marry young boys
– 6 men and 7 women married into one marriage
– Because of the discovery of a drink prone gene, DUI and DWI laws overturned by supreme court

in short society goes down the toilet because they refuse to have any standards or judge people.. coz its the PC thing to do.

May 28, 2012 at 1:33 pm |

annie

The bible itself demands that people not judge each other. If religions want to trot out some statements in the bible, then this one can also be trotted out to them.

May 28, 2012 at 1:36 pm |

Major Tom

Make sure that tinfoil hat is fastened tight over the standard issue ret@rd helmet.

May 28, 2012 at 1:37 pm |

Colin

My dream headlines from 2050

LAST CHURCH IN THE USA CLOSES ITS DOORS.

Reuters AAP – The last place of worship the USA officially closed its doors yesterday. The Church of Christ Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama held its last service at 10:00 on Sunday morning and was promptly shuttered by its pastor. “While I will be sorry to see a tradition pas.s, I guess it was time to move on,” declared Pastor Kevin Smith, “It saddens me a little, but I can no longer preach things I no longer believe in myself. Also, given that my congregation is elderly and poor, donations are down to a spasmodic trickle.”

The closure marks the culmination of a dramatic surge in secularism in the USA following the Catholic Church scandals of the early 21st Century. After phone hacking by Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Network revealed that the Pope and virtually all Archbishops were acutely aware of the depth of the pedophilia problem since the 1950s, sweeping new policies were implemented under President Gibbs’ administration (2040-2048).

Under his “No Mind Left Behind” policy, children were taught science, history, psychology and critical thinking from their first year of school. It was not until they were in their early teens and had a grounding in healthy skepticism and independent thought, that any supernatural belief, such as astrology or religion was allowed to be presented to them. Such beliefs were, of course, almost universally rejected by them.

As interest in the supernatural has dwindled, the vacated churches, synagogues and mosques in the USA were sold off and the proceeds invested in a fund which, under the XXV Amendment to the US Const.itution, could only be used to further scientific education and environmental awareness and protection. Already the fund has been responsible for returning vast swaths of land to their natural state, in the USA and elsewhere and has largely been credited for ensuring the survival of the tiger, cheetah and mountain gorilla.

Bibles and The Book of Mormon, which once graced virtually every hotel room in the USA, were replaced with Richard Dawkins’ “The God Delusion.”

As people have increasingly realized there is no sky-being looking out for us, donations to the Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation, the Red Heart (f/k/a “Red Cross”) and Doctors Without Borders are at an all time high. “Looking back, it’s weird to think of some of the nonsense people believed as late as the early 21st Century,” commented Pastor Smith, as he locked the doors and walked nonchalantly from his church. “I guess you can’t judge them too harshly, though. When you’re taught it from such an early age and then told it’s immoral to even question it, I guess you are easy prey.”

May 28, 2012 at 1:37 pm |

JeffreyRO5

That's a pretty dumb statement. Do you object to legal divorce? Has anything had more negative effect on marriage than no-fault, the legality of which Christians support? What about Rush Limbaugh, with three divorces and now married to his future fourth ex-wife? Why isn't THAT the problem, and not loving, committed gay couples getting married?

May 28, 2012 at 1:38 pm |

ReclaimMarriage

@ JefferyRO5

I have always thought that no fault divorce was the beginning of the end for society.

We should bring back divorce for adultery and abuse only. Along with defining marriage as one man + one woman

May 28, 2012 at 1:41 pm |

DSI

I have standards and I do judge people. I judge you a surge on humanity and my judgment is just as valid as yours except mine is not based on hate.

May 28, 2012 at 1:44 pm |

DSI

I was married once; to a woman who, two years into the marriage decided she was going to start committing check fraud (she was christian by the way; a characteristic I should not have overlooked). I'm glad I was able to divorce her or I might have ended up in prison which is where she ended up.

May 28, 2012 at 1:48 pm |

HeavenSent

DSI, blame gets put on the Ad execs (worldwide) for bombarding folks with all the nonsense they must buy this and must buy that to be whole.

May 28, 2012 at 2:09 pm |

BBoy705

Collin, I am so with you man! End the madness sooner than later! Great piece of writing, do you mind if I copy it??? Thanks!!

May 28, 2012 at 2:11 pm |

Colin

BBoy – knock yourself out. The more we can spead the word, the better.

May 28, 2012 at 2:18 pm |

Hammer Of The Gods

You want to reclaim marriage.
The original meaning of "marriage"
was a contract between two partys.
The word marriage has evolved, but you want to stop it now
because you have an agenda.
Seems pretty clear that both republicans and Christians dont like change.
Good luck stopping the world from changing just because you dont like it.

May 28, 2012 at 3:00 pm |

sqeptiq

Reclaim, have you ever had an original thought or do you just perpetually repeat what you have heard some nutjob say?

May 28, 2012 at 6:33 pm |

yneeemee

They should protest outside or even inside his "church: and give him and his congregation the willies....

May 28, 2012 at 1:32 pm |

TheBob

He is "again" it.

May 28, 2012 at 1:33 pm |

Why Does God Hate Amputees?

God hates amputees more than gays. He allows gays to keep their arms and legs, but will NEVER give an amputee back his or her lost arm or leg. Never, ever, ever in history has an amputee grown back a lost limb. Why does god hate amputees so much? Much more than gays?

May 28, 2012 at 1:32 pm |

sybaris

This god hates harlequin babies too.

May 28, 2012 at 1:47 pm |

Snowdog

What a ridiculous statement.

May 28, 2012 at 1:56 pm |

Hammer Of The Gods

God hates unicorns, he refused to let them on the ark.

May 28, 2012 at 3:01 pm |

fred phelps

fred phelps is a democrat

May 28, 2012 at 1:31 pm |

Hammer Of The Gods

Hitler was a christian, whats your point ?

May 28, 2012 at 3:02 pm |

sqeptiq

Fred is a democrat in Cloud Kuckoo Land, but nowhere else.

May 28, 2012 at 6:37 pm |

LewBasnight

Propaganda was used in Nazi Germany to persuade Germans that Jews were vermin that needed to be exterminated. If you ever doubt that propaganda is effective, just look at what happened in Nazi Germany. Now, in the United States, propaganda is being used in the same way, and very effectively, to convince people that being gay is normal, popular, and trendy.

May 28, 2012 at 1:29 pm |

WilliamsGrad

So interesting you would elect to use the persecution of my people, the Jews, to support those who fear and hate in this country. Certainly propaganda plays an enormous role in this debate, but in a manner precisely opposite that which you suggest. The propaganda comes from small-minded bigots who fear our gay communities for deeply selfish and misguided reasons – just as the those in Nazi Germany or in Russia in the days of the pogroms were taught to hate and fear the Jews. This is a fundamental civil rights issue, and you should be ashamed (as will your children be) of your position.

May 28, 2012 at 1:43 pm |

pico

why you go back that long did you forgot the Iraq war

May 28, 2012 at 1:43 pm |

Hammer Of The Gods

*** Now, in the United States, propaganda is being used in the same way, to convince people that being gay is sick and perverted.

It wont work this time.

May 28, 2012 at 3:04 pm |

sqeptiq

And this "pastor" is convincing Americans that christians are sick and perverted.

The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.